Careers360 World-class universities: What can India learn? | Page 21

World class university Alumni Base Alongside faculty they the bedrock of a great Good and diverse alumni are the core strength of world class universities. They provide funds, resources and most importantly connections for future students to tap into… Global Alumni Data University of Toronto 583,458 University of Michigan Ann Arbor The University of Texas at Austin 540,000 460,000 University of California, Berkeley 458,000 University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign 425,000 University of Wisconsin Madison New York University 400,372 400,000 University of Toronto’s alumni association arranges awards and scholarships valued at $100,000 by Team Careers360 W hen Yale conceptualized building two new full residential undergraduate colleges, it tapped into its wide alumni base. In came a 250 million dollar contribution from Charles Johnson, former chairman of Franklin Resources Inc. The large donation almost single-handedly covered 75% of the total cost. That is the kind of push alumni could provide to a university. US universities, especially in the private sector, have traditionally been heavily dependent on contributions by rich and privileged individuals and corporations. They consequently have very structured programmes and departments to continually engage and enrich their alumni sources. The symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationships maintained by these universities go a long way in making them world class. Indian universities are very much in a nascent stage when it comes to alumni relationships. Barring the IITs and select IIMs, no other university has any worthwhile initiative to engage and relate with its alumni. With the kind of 52 Careers 360 January 2014 resources, financial or otherwise, that is essential to the making of a world class university, it is imperative that universities wake up to this new realty.